Except the Soul
by purpleraincloud
Summary: Daniel, a moral dilemma and so on. Phase Two up.
1. Ten Minutes Till...

Except the Soul  
Phase One: Ten Minutes Till Apocalypse   
  
Disclaimer: I'm working on the money to buy the copyright to these guys...with my current allowance I'll have them...um...when's next to never?   
Summary: SG-4 recovers the Holy Grail on PSX-221. Where a sip gives you eternal youth, or does it? Daniel experiences the many travels of the soul...aka the nine deaths of Mr. Jackson told in nine phases.   
Phase One: Daniel isn't notified of Stargate's existence until it's too late. The Gou'ald are on they're way. Daniel joins in on a desperate mission to save mankind with Carter and O'Neill by finding a weapon the Ancients created. But will this save them or bring them even closer to destruction? (dun dun dun!)   
Warnings/Spoilers: Um...none? Dunno, if I ruined something for you, I apologize profusely. Some cheese, don't read if you're lactose intolerant. Hit "back" if you're a Christian fundamentalist, find discomfort in male/male implications, and get headaches with pseudo-philosophical musings.   
Author's Notes: First attempt at a fic. Tell me how I do, huh? :wink: Suggestions for phases gladly accepted. E-mail: ldysatyr@white-star.com  
  
0600 Hours  
Personnel Log   
Login: Jackson, D.  
Password: ******  
  
SG-4 uncovered something very interesting in PSX-221 yesterday at approximately 0900 hours. A chalice, embossed in platinum and gold, with Armenian writing on it. Carbon dating has it at over 2000 years old. You thinking what I'm thinking? I think we've just found the Holy Grail.   
  
Daniel relished in the gentle clicking sound of his laptop as it collapsed. Too many questions without answers Daniel thought sadly. Letting his gaze slip again at the small chalice that stood on his desk wrapped in a sheet. It was such a small thing really. No more than maybe 2 and half inches in diameter, five inches in length. Yet who knows what powers in may hold? Daniel sighed and let the subject drop. No amount of research would give him the answers he wanted. Unless... No. Daniel took off his glasses and blew on them, then wiped the lens. Out of the question. Unheard of... Besides, Jack would kill him. Oh yeah. Yet... His gaze went back onto the small cup, glinting in the fluorescent lights. How many wars were fought over this thing, Daniel thought. And how many more will have to be fought once the NID or the Russians or the Christians found out? Daniel picked up the object almost in anger...as if the inanimate object could feel the pain it would give to the thousands...maybe millions of unnamed people that may have to die for it. Daniel shook his head. A sip...that's all. Maybe it's all just a legend he thought somewhat bitterly. He reminisced briefly on the words he translated from the cup... "Nothing truly flies or dies...except the soul...except the soul...except the soul." What did it mean, Daniel demanded to the thing that stood still and voiceless.   
Forget it, Jack will have to forgive me. He filled the chalice with maybe three gulps of water, tops and swallowed it before he gave it another thought. Usually when you fall unconscious the world erupts in blackness. Not this time, the light was blinding as it hit him.  
  
***  
Phase One: Ten Minutes Till Apocalypse   
February 1996  
  
Daniel got off the cab at the curb of his apartment in Chicago. He was just at a workshop with half a dozen of other anthropologists who were debating the roots of the Great Pyramids in Egypt. He had jokingly stated maybe aliens put them there. He got a good laugh out of his coworkers and then they were all business again.   
He was searching for the keys to his apartment in his bag when a man came from behind him.  
"Dr. Jackson?"   
Daniel turned. "Yes?"  
"U.S. Air Force. Please come with me."  
Before he could respond, he was jerked forward and forced into a car.  
  
The car was some fancy European thing. Leather upholstery, CD player, the works. Daniel wasn't impressed.  
"Why am I here?"  
"You'll see Dr. Jackson. Please sit still."  
  
Cheyenne Mt. Base, Colorado: 1800 hours.   
  
Daniel stared, awe struck by the stainless steel reinforced base found in the middle of nowhere Colorado. It was three hours since his flight and his head was still ringing. Too much to take in, he thought. Staring back at the endlessly blank faces that greeted him. Was he supposed to get used to this?   
"Dr. Jackson!" A low, fatherly voice greeted him.  
Daniel took the hand offered to him.  
"General Hammond, U.S. Air Force."  
Daniel nodded. "I see. All this," he made a gesture to include the base, "is run by you?"  
Hammond smiled. "You could say that."  
"Why am I here?"  
Hammond's smile disappeared. "You're an Egyptologist. From what we hear, the best in the world."  
Daniel blushed. "Well..."  
"No need to be modest here Dr. Jackson. Everyone here is the best at what they do. Would you come with me please?"   
The corridor took forever to go down, like one of those spiral slides Daniel went on when he was very young. However, he found that when he reached the end, it was worth it.  
"Take a look doctor. It's the Stargate."  
A large circular shaped object was placed at the end of the corridor. Symbols in what Daniel which recognized as hieroglyphics were etched in the stone.  
"What...What is it?"  
Hammond smiled smugly. "A Stargate. An ancient device used to allow travel through an immense expanse of space in a very short amount of time."  
"Incredible," Jackson replied, stepping closer and closer to the gate. Hammond stopped him before he reached the ramp.  
"There are some drawbacks however."  
Daniel turned to face Hammond, realization dawning on him. "Drawbacks?"  
  
Lieutenant Samantha Carter's Office:  
  
"Lieutenant?" Hammond asks, searching for the room quickly before letting his eyes settle on the petite blonde just a few paces from the window.  
"Sir?" The woman replied, turning.  
"Dr. Daniel Jackson, Lieutenant Samantha Carter."  
Daniel took her hand. It was chilly.  
"Nice to meet you Dr. Jackson."   
Jackson had the weirdest feeling...not quite unlike déjà vu...he knew he had done this before.  
"Nice to meet you too Lt."  
He seemed reluctant to let go of her hand.  
"I've been told you've been briefed on our situation?" Carter asked, pulling her hand away.  
Daniel nodded. "It's a lot to take in...I mean...the Gou'ald? What do they want?"  
"They travel throughout worlds, conquering them, enslaving the people... getting hosts... They...they'll destroy us Dr. Jackson."  
"But...what can I do?" Daniel whispered.  
"A lot."   
Daniel spun around.  
"Colonel O'Neill." Hammond stated plainly.  
Daniel did a double take...have I, he mused.  
He nodded recognition to Carter and Hammond. Daniel he ignored.  
"Show him Carter."  
Carter went to her desk and pulled out a tablet.  
"What is it?" Daniel asked, taking the object from the Lt.  
"We don't know. We found it in one of the worlds. None of our other linguists have been able to decipher it. We were hoping you could...it may help us in our fight against the Gou'ald."  
Daniel scanned the words quickly, breaking them down to their root words, flipping through all the languages he knew. His mind was like a dictionary once he recognized the language. A derivation of Gaelic... a little Latin and Greek too... strange.  
"It speaks about..." Daniel's lips continued to move even though he said nothing. "A weapon of mass destruction...it fires like...a symphony of light."   
Hammond nodded. "We need to go back to that planet and find this weapon Dr. Jackson."  
Daniel was startled. "Why? This thing...whatever it is...could be more destructive than the A-bomb."  
O'Neill smiled. "You hit the nail on the head Dannyboy...that's exactly what we were looking for."  
  
Stargate Terminal:  
  
Daniel was suited in military attire. He felt awkward, like he shouldn't trust these people, yet in an odd way, he did. He trusted them with everything...even his own life.  
"You're cleared for duty SG-1. Bring back this weapon the Ancients created...for the sake of mankind. Good luck team."  
The Stargate flashed blue, like water rushing to meet the tide. It was beautiful.  
"The Ancients?" Daniel mused.  
Carter nodded. "Yes. It is what this civilization called themselves."  
Daniel nodded slowly.  
"Enough kids. Let's go." O'Neill gestured for the two to follow him into the shimmering blue mass.  
Daniel took a deep breath and stepped into the Stargate.  
  
The Ancient home world, Coordinates Classified Information  
  
It was beautiful...like...like the Garden of Eden.  
"It's nice huh?" O'Neill commented to no one in particular.  
Daniel turned and faced him, a ghost of a smile on his face. O'Neill gave him the softest look Daniel had seen since his appearance in Carter's office.  
"Sir?" Carter asked, and just like that, the look vanished.  
"Carter?"  
"Sir, I think we should head to the temple...the weapon has got to be there somewhere."  
O'Neill nodded, telling Daniel with no words at all, to follow quickly and not to be a bother.  
Daniel nodded, if only to himself and followed the two soldiers.   
"So how many times have you guys been here?" Daniel asked Carter and O'Neill.  
"Only one other time. We sent a probe in at first to check the place out before we came." O'Neill stated evenly. "There's the temple," he pointed out in the distance.  
Daniel squinted his eyes against the light. The sight of the temple took his breath away. It was perched on a hill, much like the Parthenon, except it was shaped like a pyramid.  
"Come on. Pick up the pace. We need to find this thing." O'Neill stated, marching steadily faster towards the hill and the temple.  
  
The Temple of the Ancients:   
  
"It's even more incredible on the inside," Daniel gasped.   
O'Neill rolled his eyes. "Yeesh, you're like some kid at a candy store. Cool it geek. We need find that Ancient light thingie."  
Carter smiled. Light thingie.  
"Take a look around. We'll be right behind you."   
Daniel turned to face O'Neill. "You've been inside here already?"  
Carter nodded. "This is where we found the tablet you translated earlier."  
Daniel nodded. That made sense. He traced his hands over the writings on the walls. "This here...tells a story about an ancient galactic war...woah..." Daniel took a step back.  
"What?" O'Neill asked, worried.  
"It was a nasty war. Doesn't look like a lot of people survived it...they built a weapon in case the enemy ever returned."  
"The light weapon?" Carter mused.  
Daniel shrugged uncertainly. "I think so."   
"Well where is it?" O'Neill asked.  
Daniel faced him, eyes blazing. "Look you guys...say I find this weapon...I mean...it'll...it'll kill...a lot of people."  
O'Neill's eyebrows shot up. "They aren't people Daniel. They're the Gou'ald. They're parasites. They infest people, enslave and kill. These people don't deserve compassion Jackson. Snap out of it."  
Daniel pouted; it hurt to look at the old colonel now. "They're still lives."  
Carter put her hand sympathetically on Daniel's shoulder.   
"It's us or them Daniel. And it can't be us."  
Daniel nodded, pretending like he understood.  
"It says..." He pointed at another section of the writing. "They placed in the place only the wise would be able to see."  
O'Neill quirked. "Great! And where's that's supposed to be."  
Daniel pondered this briefly. "In Ancient Egyptian culture the eye of wisdom is depicted on the point of the pyramid."  
"Meaning?" O'Neill asked intensely.  
"It means...your weapon is on the roof."   
  
Cheyenne Mountain Base: Briefing room  
  
"Dr. Jackson...congratulations. I think you've just saved the world." Hammond told the young archeologist with the smallest smile.   
Daniel didn't feel like a hero. He felt like he just gave a kid a gun and expected him not to shoot himself... Daniel was struck with an odd...memory? He shook his head...bad analogy...bad. But why?  
"Dr. Jackson?"   
Carter.  
"Yes Lt.?"  
She smiled. "Carter is fine Dr. Jackson. Or Sam."  
"Then I insist you call me Daniel."  
She nodded. "We're going to give the weapon a test shot. Will you like to watch?"  
Daniel nodded. Numb all over.  
"Ready Lt.?" A nameless sergeant asked Sam Carter.  
She nodded and spoke to a voice on her intercom.   
"Preparing for initial test run."  
Sirens blared. Daniel heard...felt none of it. Except a slight chill down his spine.  
The weapon fired...mass destruction...and it was turned down as low as Carter could engineer it. Men cheered...women hugged the person next to them. Daniel stood there. Breathless. Bang.  
  
Stargate Terminal:  
  
"We're going to try to shoot down a Gou'ald spaceship heading our way in approximately two hours." Hammond stated sharply.  
Carter nodded. "Yes sir. I'll prepare the weapon."  
Weapon. The world itself made Jackson uneasy. He had a bad feeling about all of this.  
"Dr. Jackson is there something the matter?" Hammond asked, compassion in his voice. Daniel stared at the older man silently.  
"I..."  
"Colonel O'Neill stated to me that you had a somewhat...moral objection to all this?"  
Numb. Numb all over.  
"Yes sir."  
"Why?"  
Because we're killing people...beings we don't understand...ending life.   
"I feel like a murderer."  
Shock on the general's face.  
"Why?"  
If you give a child a gun...and he fires...do you blame the child?  
What could he say? The answer was so simple.  
"I don't want to be the cause of any loss of life...sir."  
"Dr. Jackson." More sympathy in his tone...but it was harder now. Determined. Daniel closed his eyes. It's so hard to feel.  
"General?"   
O'Neill.  
"Yes Colonel?"  
"Carter is ready when you are."  
Hammond nodded. "Excuse me Dr. Jackson."  
The two soldiers left. The oxygen left the room. Daniel gasped for air.  
***  
  
"Carter?"  
O'Neill stood beside the woman, looking over her shoulder even though he didn't understand anything the screen of her computer said.  
"Ready sir." Carter turned her blue eyes onto O'Neill. "How's Daniel?"  
"Still conscientiously objecting." O'Neill stated flatly.  
Carter felt sorry for the young man. He didn't want to be pulled into this mess. He wasn't military. He couldn't believe good can come with the deliberate taking of life.   
"Lt.?"  
The technical sergeant tapped Carter out of her reverie.  
"The ship has entered our atmosphere."  
"How long till it's in range?" Carter asked.  
"A few seconds."  
Carter turned to O'Neill.  
"Prepare to fire." O'Neill told her starkly.  
Carter nodded. "Initiating sequence."  
  
Carter's Office:  
  
"Daniel?" Large, strong hands on his shoulder. O'Neill.  
"Colonel." Lips were dry...cracked probably.  
"Are you all right?"  
"Not really."  
Silence.  
"The ship has entered our atmosphere."  
Snicker. Was that really me, Daniel thought.  
"It didn't work."  
Daniel snapped his head up.  
"What?"  
O'Neill picked up Carter's paperweight and played with it in his hands.  
"It didn't work. They had shields...bounced right off of it. The ship...it's preparing to attack the base."  
Daniel stood up. "Where will we go?"  
O'Neill smiled a fake smile. "Nowhere. Where can we go? SGC is probably the strongest base in the world. It would be the safest place to be. We're doomed."  
"No. You can't say that. We should evacuate...do something..."  
"Don't waste your breath Jackson. The next few minutes...they're...they'll be your last."   
No air...no air...no air. He was suffocating...He was allergic to death.  
"Jack."  
Cobalt blue eyes shot up in surprise.  
"What?"  
"My name. It's Jack. I don't know why but...I had a funny feeling I needed to tell you that before I died."  
Déjà vu...big time. But why?  
"How long till..."  
Jack snorted. "Apocalypse."  
"Ten minutes...probably less. Definitely no more."  
Daniel gestured for him to sit.  
"Why? What's the point?"  
"Sit." Daniel insisted. "Talk to me."  
Jack laughed half-heartedly. "Yeah. Let's die together."  
Daniel smiled faintly. "Let's."  
  
TBC in Phase Two: A Thousand Points of Light 


	2. A Thousand Points of Light

A Thousand Points of Light  
Summary: Daniel, a moral dilemma and so on. Phase two of the series.   
  
Blaring. Incessant blaring. Danger. Unauthorized off-world activation. 7:00 a.m. get the hell up Daniel Jackson. All blares meant the same thing. He had to hurry up and go somewhere. Daniel got up, resolved that he was not going to have a nice day. He hurried to the kitchen and slapped on Mr. Coffee. He turned on the radio and opened his refrigerator, digging for something edible. A half eaten fortune cookie from last night's Chinese take-out with Jack and Carter (Teal'c couldn't be persuaded to join them) laid on the kitchen table. He grabbed it and pulled the paper out, discarding the rest of the cookie into the trashcan.  
New challenges await you. Daniel smiled faintly. Oh joy, he thought solemnly as he poured a cup of coffee into his "I went to Egypt and all I got was this lousy mug" mug that Carter gave him for Christmas. He checked his watch and nearly spat, 7:45. He was going to be late. He grabbed his car keys and was out the door.  
  
***  
"What happened?" Jack asked, a strange edge to his voice.  
"What?" Daniel looked up from his files to meet the older man's dark eyes.  
"Did your fish die or something? You look distressed." Jack picked up the pyramid shaped paperweight that laid on Daniel's desk and began fiddling with it. I knew I should have put that away, Daniel thought irately. Since he bought the darn thing everyone from Carter to Cassie have come into his office to nervously fiddle with it.   
"I just have this weird feeling."  
"And that is?"  
"That I'm not supposed to be here. I'm supposed to..." Daniel shook his head confidently. "Never mind. I'm overworked and I'm losing my mind is what's up."   
Jack made a strange tsk sound from the back of his throat that Daniel thought only people from small tribes in Africa could do, put down the paperweight and headed for the door. He stopped and turned back to Daniel.  
"Hey. You, Carter, Teal'c, me and the General have to have a nice chat now. Coming?"  
Daniel smiled, put his folder away and proceeded out the door, Jack on his heels and egging him on.   
  
***  
"Thor has invited us to the peace summit on the Ket'tal homeworld this Friday. The Asgard, the Furlings, and the Nox will be there also."  
Carter exhaled, eyes wide. "That's quite a party list."  
Hammond nodded. "We've never met the Furlings before, correct?"  
Jack nodded. "Talked about them briefly with an Asgard but never met any."  
"Is the Ket'tal atmosphere suited for us to be there?" Carter asked, concerned.  
The Ket'tal were a race of semi-aquatic, amphibian like creatures. They looked like Swamp Thing basically. Nice people though.  
"Their planet is approximately 85% water," Daniel added. "They have only one city built on land and it's a small one hardly suited for the type of high security this conference will require."  
Hammond nodded. "I have gone through all these details with Thor. He tells me that all preparations shall be made that will enable us to join them. The Ket'tal have shields that will protect you from the water, and suits that will enable a constant flow of oxygen into your systems for over 24 hours."  
"The Ket'tal have shown to be fairly admirable and honorable creatures," Teal'c added his two cents.   
Jack raised his hand slightly. "I hate to be the nah-sayer."  
Daniel shot him a look. He knew damn well Jack loved to be the nay-sayer.  
"But," Jack continued, ignoring Daniel's look, "why should we trust the Ket'tal?"  
"We're not, sir." Carter explained firmly. "We're trusting the Asgard. Which we do."  
Jack lifted his hands up defensively. "Just checking. All right boys and girls. If that's what you want to play, I'll supervise."  
"You leave in two hours. Dismissed. Good luck SG-1."  
Jack learned over to Teal'c and whispered, "We'll need it," into his ear.   
  
***  
SG-1 arrived on the Ket'tal homeworld three hours before the start of the summit. Thor met them upon landing and greeted them with his usual Asgradian calm.  
"Quite a shingdig going down here today, eh Thor?" Jack asked casually.  
Thor checked his head slightly to the side. His way of showing laughter perhaps, Daniel pondered.   
"Yes O'Neill. It is quite splendid. Thank you for attending."  
"Thank you for inviting us. This is quite an honor." Carter interjected with a tone much more diplomatic than Jack's. Daniel suppressed a grin.  
The special suits the Asgard created for them to breathe underwater were handed to each of them. They were black...and tight, resembling wetsuits. Small silver pockets filled with air decorated the waist of the suits and a long, transparent tube made from a plastic like material extended to their faces. A mask was at the end of the tube, which the four members of SG-1 quickly placed over their mouths. Thor nodded approvingly.  
"We should depart now."  
Daniel hadn't taken much notice to the vehicle till then. It floated on the Gallatian Ocean. It resembled the base a spoon in shape. Curved beautifully, it had no windows and only the small projectiles that were obviously weapons of some sort suggested that this vehicle was more than a transportation device.   
"This is Gates's vehicle. He will be your guide when we reach Ogden. He is the leader of the marine unit on Ket'tal," Thor informed us.  
"Ah...a marine," Jack replied nonchalantly.  
"The Ket'tal homeworld is basically water. The marine unit is basically their entire army probably," Daniels stated as-a-matter-of-factly.  
Jack shot him an annoyed, tell me something I don't know, look.   
The entire Ket'tal homeworld was made up of one land mass called Ogalith and the Gallatian Ocean. Gallatia was the leader of a band of Ket'tal warriors that won the Ket'tal their independence from another planet's warlord over two thousand years ago. Sixty of the cities of the Ket'tal were underwater. Ogden was the largest and the home of the Imperial Marine Corps. and the Imperial family.   
The trip down was absolutely breathtaking. Although there were no windows, a camera positioned at the top and bottom of the submarine enabled everyone to get a panoramic view of the scenery.   
"Wow," Carter said simply, awe-struck.  
"Makes the Marine Bay Aquarium look like a fish tank, huh?" Jack joked. But Daniel could tell he was impressed too. The Ket'tal were obviously environmental fanatics. The water was perfectly clear of any impurities and probably a thousand times cleaner than any water in the Caribbean of Earth.   
"The Ket'tal have struck an equilibrium with their environment. They do not pollute their air, nor contaminate their water." Thor told them flatly.   
"There's a lot we could learn from them," Daniel mumbled.  
Thor nodded. "Yes there is."  
  
***  
A large, green, frog like creature greeted them as the exited the submarine. The city of Ogden was surrounded by a force field that protected the city from attacks from other creatures of or not of Ket'tal. Beyond the force field was a bubble of air and reaching it, the team took off their masks.  
"Gates I presume?" Jack asked, extending his hand to the creature. He looked at it briefly as if it were foreign to him, which it was. When he realized it was a show of friendship he smiled that weird Ket'tal smile and took Jack's offered hand. His own hand was smaller than Jack's; his skin was a bit slimy, his fingers stubby and webbed. He seemed to enjoy this display of comradely and continued on, taking everyone else's hand.   
Thor merely bowed slightly and introduced himself to Gates.  
"Ah yes Thor. It is good to see you again." As Gates bowed the green skin of his neck slit apart and Daniel could see the gills that flapped on either side of Gates's head. Daniel was entranced and didn't notice Carter poking him until she decided to slap him across the head instead.  
"Ow."  
"I was trying to get your attention. Come on, we're going to help Gates set up," Carter instructed as Daniel rubbed his head and pouted at her.   
"That's a cool submarine you got there," Jack told Gates, walking beside the larger man.  
"Yes it is. One of the newer models, although our spacecrafts are much more impressive."  
Jack shrugged. "Could you show us one when once this conference is over?"  
Gates tilted his head slightly and seemed to contemplate this notion briefly. "All right."  
Jack nodded approvingly. "Sweet."   
The place was already bustling with activity when they entered the large conference hall. The "war room" Gates had called it. Carter and Teal'c helped some of the other Ket'tal set up what Daniel could only guess to be some sort of video equipment and a projector. Chairs were being set up by machines and Jack took a seat, watching Carter and Teal'c work with a smidge of disinterest.  
"I hate being early to a party. Now we have to wait until everyone else gets here."  
Daniel looked around the conference hall. The place was rather...boring.  
"Think Gates would let us walk around the city. We do have over two hours until the conference started."  
Jack nodded. "Not a bad idea."  
***  
When Daniel was 5 years old he read about Plato's Atlantis and dreamt that it was real. Well, the Ket'tal homeworld invoked those images in his head, the old childhood fantasizes he had of Atlantis. At the center of the city there was an open court where bazaars were held, just like in ancient Greece, Daniel mused. Merchants selling everything from brass jewelry to microchips competed for center of attention in the small open square. Women in chiffon robes holding small children darted through the shops buying bread and meat. Deeper into the city stacks of apartments rose as high as the force field dome allowed them. Small Ket'tal boys played games with toys that resembled dominoes or jacks. Above them cars zoomed by.   
"Weird...it's like something from Star Wars mixed with something from..."  
"Friday night on Channel 9?" Daniel finished. "It's quite incredible. I didn't see those cars emitting any fumes. Thor was right, they don't pollute anything."   
"Kind of makes you depressed, huh?" Jack asked, suddenly very interested in the weapon in his hands.  
Daniel shrugged. "Our time will come."  
"Whatever," Jack replied, eyes darting up. "Let's head back." Jack started to leave and Daniel followed.   
  
***  
The conference opened at exactly 900 hours on the dot.   
"Punctual pricks, aren't they?" Jack whispered into Daniel's ear. Daniel smiled and brushed him aside.   
Gates stood at the podium at the head of the hall and called for silence. The results were instant.   
Daniel looked around the hall. Beside him sat the members of SG-1, to the far left, Thor and his companions sat. Above them and expanding that entire row were the Nox. Below the Nox in the far left sat the Furlings. The Furlings were small, blue, elf like creatures. They had sand colored hair and sharp pointed noses and ears. But they seemed friendly enough, Daniel thought. One of them spoke for quite a long time with Daniel about the history of Babylon, intergalactic conquerors and various wars, some Daniel knew and many he didn't. The Furlings spoke a language that was a mixture of Greek and Latin that Daniel didn't particularly enjoy speaking.   
It took Daniel a second to realize that Gates was still speaking. "We came to discuss peace amongst ourselves but also to discuss the possibility of war with others."  
Daniel sat up and horrified looks rippled throughout SG-1. The anxiety on Teal'c's face was even apparent.   
A circular object on the table in front of Gates sounded and began to whirl. It was a projector. The image shown was a small, green planet.  
"Ket'tal's sister planet, the Creta, are under threat of invasion. The creatures known to the Asgard as the Replicators have entered our galaxy and threatening our way of life here."  
The projector image changed into that of a robotic, spider-like creature, a Replicator.  
"As some of you know, once these creatures are allowed into a galaxy we have found it merely impossible to remove them. Our scientists have developed a device called the EPD. An electron pulley device. What it is does is...well, it basically pulls electrons out of the orbital of the molecule the device is set to. Unfortunately, all tests have concluded that when left on the device quickly becomes a bomb and in burst it causes other molecules around it to implode."  
Jack turned to Carter. "You understand any of that."  
Carter tried to smile briefly. "Yes, sir."  
Jack nodded. "Good. One of us should."  
Daniel stood up and raised his hand.  
Gates turned his large, bubble eyes towards him. "Yes Dr. Jackson?"  
"So what you're basically saying is you can use this device on the Replicators. You know it can work in destroying them and ridding them of your galaxy so that they will not be a threat to you...but you know that setting off this device would also be like planting a bomb on this sister planet of yours and killing God knows how many of these people who just happen to be in the immediate vicinity."  
Gates looked down for a moment. No shame in his eyes though, just sadness.  
"Yes. That is a well-put assessment of the situation, Dr. Jackson."  
Daniel sat down.   
"No way. No way can they do that!" He whispered into Jack's ear. Jack motioned for him to calm down and listen to what everyone else had to say.  
"In response to Dr. Jackson's comment..." A Ket'tal scientist rose off his seat and bowed towards the audience. "The range of the device will be set to the entire planet and then some just in case the Replicators have ships in orbit of the planet. So those who may be killed by the implosion will not necessarily be those in the immediate vicinity. As for the number of those who will be killed...I have estimated over 3/4 of the entire population of the planet."  
Daniel felt sick. He didn't want to listen to this. Beside him Jack made a few hand gestures to his team asking for calm.   
"We also," the scientist continued, "Must add that intelligent life has never been found on Creta. The dominant creatures are aquatic mollusks who do not have the ability to speak as do all highly evolved species."  
Thor stood up from his seat down and addressed the podium.  
"No one has witnessed the damage the Replicators can do like I have. Although I understand your actions were bred from desperation, the Asgard will neither stand by it nor stop it." Thor bowed to Gates and him and the rest of the Asgard rose and left the room. Jack watched in stunned silence. A Nox rose now to speak.   
"Friends, we too understand your will to survive. However, we have no strife with the Replicatos, and although we are not ignorant of its potential dangers, we too cannot support the possible eradication of a planet. We are sorry."   
Daniel felt his hands start to get numb from clutching his chair so tightly.   
A Ket'tal diplomat rose. "What should you have us do then? If the Replicators enter our galaxy the amt. Dead will be much greater than if we act now."  
Daniel bolted. "You can't be sure of that!"  
"No," the diplomat said, shaking his head sadly. "But will you have us all die before you can!"  
The numbness in Daniel's hands spread to his brain and he heard nothing more at the conference. The next concrete detail he remembered was Sam tugging on his sleeve telling them they were going through the gate and back home.   
  
***  
"General they're basically telling us they're about to annihilate an entire population, an entire culture..." Daniel shouted, exasperated.  
"Danny...breathe." Jack told him, making it sound like a command.  
Hammond looked at the archaeologist dead set in his eyes. He is so very young, Hammond thought to himself.  
Jack interjected. "They see it as a kill or be killed situation, Daniel."  
"But they're putting an entire planet in the middle and when the smoke clears, they're the real ones under fire."  
"Whose to say they aren't dead already? We've seen the kind of damage the Replicators can do in short period of time. And besides, that scientist thing said that the Creta are probably not sentient anyway." Jack snapped.  
Daniel shook his head. "It's just...not right."  
Now Hammond interjected. "We're not deciding they're right, Daniel. The truth is, you and Jack are probably both right. There is no black and white situation here. However, I find that Colonel O'Neill's assessment is probably the course of action SGC should take."  
Daniel's eyes bugged out. "What?" He was barely audible.  
Jack put his head in his hands and shook his head.  
"The Ket'tal galaxy is not so far off from our galaxy, Dr. Jackson. If the Replicators make it that far, well, it's not safe for the people of Earth. I've decided that we are going to stand by their decision and..."  
Daniel wished a black hole would just open under him and suck him away. Somewhere far off Hammond was still speaking, "assist them if necessary."  
  
***  
"I can't believe we're here," Daniel grumbled. Beside him Teal'c was suiting up.  
"I understand your frustration at this situation Daniel Jackson, however, I do agree with General Hammond when he says that there is no right solution."  
Daniel shook his head. "I know that there's no right solution Teal'c. But there's a solution that doesn't involve knowingly slaughtering an entire race of people. Ugh! I hate the military, all it is with them is a game of numbers. Kill more of them than they kill of you and you've got a victory. Well, there's other things too. If the Ket'tal sacrifice their goodness, their honor or their integrity by massacring these innocents...well, maybe they'll soon wish they were dead."   
Teal'c raised his eyebrows at that. It was rare that such a rise would occur from their calm and collected friend. However, the Jaffa himself had to admit that Jackson was different from them in that Daniel was always willing to pay whatever price it was to do the right thing. He had even once gave up possibly his last chance to rescue his wife so that he could do the right thing and save Teal'c's life.  
The two rested from their long trek through Ogden and spotted O'Neill and Carter talking with Gates.  
Teal'c rose. "O'Neill, Major Carter."  
Jack shook his head slightly in acknowledgement of Teal'c and Daniel, who sat on a rock beside him. Daniel didn't bother to look up at him.   
"Pack your bags campers. We're going on a field trip."  
Daniel's eyes rose wearily. "To where?"  
"The Creta homeworld." Carter replied, a hint of pity in her voice. "Plantation of the device goes down tonight."   
  
***  
At least it was dark, Daniel thought. Perhaps the night can hide the evils man will do for survival.  
The flight from the Ket'tal homeworld to the Creta homeworld took only several minutes. Daniel couldn't stop the bile from rising to his throat. After the fourth time he lifted the bag away from his face, even Jack's hard-ass Colonel façade broke a little.   
"You all right, Daniel?"  
Daniel just stared coldly back, not answering. Carter looked from Jack to Daniel as if trying to choose sides. She put her hand gently on Daniel's shoulders and took the bag from him.   
"You'll be all right, Daniel, won't you?" She asked softly. Daniel blinked and nodded. His boy like face glowing more faintly than usual, but still there.   
The ship suddenly jolted and Gates appeared before them, standing tall and firm as if nothing would move him. "We have arrived."  
  
***  
"Why am I here Jack? I can't do this." Daniel mumbled as Jack handed him the device to hold for a minute while he adjusted his pack.  
"Oh get off your moral high horse for a minute, Daniel. We're saving these people. Can't you see that? And ourselves for that matter. Now come on," Jack urged, shoving Daniel forward.   
Daniel took a step and fell. He turned back to see what had tripped him. On the floor slithering to him was a starfish. No, not quite a starfish. A large...white thing that looked almost like a starfish except it had four red eyes on what was probably its face.   
"Ja..Jack." Daniel whispered.  
But he was gone.  
Daniel turned, he was lost. Or rather, someone had moved him. But how...  
The creature now had one of its arms or tentacles or whatever around him and pulling him closer until they were face to face. Daniel blinked rapidly over and over again until he passed out.   
"Daniel! Daniel! Come on buddy, wake up now! Rise and shine and all that stuff."  
Daniel blinked. His head hurt...a lot.  
"Jack?"  
His head was on someone's lap. He looked up. Oh, it was Teal'c. Carter was beside him checking his pulse.  
"What happened?" Jack asked gently.  
"I..." Daniel shut his eyes and pinched his nose. That's when he noticed his glasses were gone. Carter quickly realized what was upsetting him and handed the glasses back to him.  
"Sorry, I took them off when I was checking you for injuries. Are you feeling all right, Daniel?"  
Daniel started to rise but Teal'c gently pushed him back down. "Rest for a minute Daniel Jackson. Until we are sure you are well."  
Daniel smiled a small smile. "I'm fine Sam, really. But...the Creta."  
Jack turned. "What?"  
"I met one of the Creta."  
Daniel started to rise again, pushing Teal'c's pulling hands away and pushed himself up.  
"The Creta are very sentient. It's not that they have no language, it's that they're telepathic. They don't need to speak to one another."   
"Daniel, are you sure?" Carter asked.  
"Yes, I'm certain. It spoke to me Sam. It knows what the Ket'tal are going to do and it told me because..."  
"Because?" Jack pushed a bit.  
"It thinks I can stop them."  
  
***  
"Gates!" Jack shouted, banging on the barrier that the Ket'tal projected to keep them out.  
"Colonel O'Neill. I'm sorry, but we can't let you through. Thank you for bringing the device here, but we are ready to plant and detonate it, so if you go on your way I'm sure neither you nor your men will get hurt."  
"Listen to me Gates! Daniel said he spoke to a Creta. They are very self aware, more to that point they're aware what you're trying to do. You have to abort!"  
Gates turned slowly to Jack. "Dr. Jackson made contact with the creature?"  
"Yes! He said...well they're telepathic, that's why they have no formal language. They don't need one. So you see, they're probably even more evolved than we are. We can't just kill them!"   
Gates's bubble eyes turned sad. "I am sorry Colonel. What you have told us...we had suspected for a while. Although Dr. Jackson has now confirmed our suspicions. Still...we must...we must continue."  
Jack banged on the force field....hard. "Damn it Gates what the hell are you pulling? Do you know what the Asgard will say? Or the Nox?"  
The large general suddenly seemed to shrink before Jack's eyes.  
"I have my orders."  
Daniel ran up from behind Jack and tapped him on the shoulder.  
"What's going on? Are they aborting now?"   
"No. They..." Jack fell on his knees. "You were right, Daniel. God, I hate it when you're right."  
Daniel watched as the Ket'tal planted the device deep into the ground of the Creta homeworld. He grabbed Jack's arm roughly, "Come on. Maybe we can warn them."  
From afar Daniel and Jack could see Teal'c and Carter firing at something. The Replicators. Jack threw Daniel his gun and he pulled his own out of his pack.  
"The Creta said that the only metals they have are natural ones found in caves along the mountains. To avoid them the Creta have been diving underwater and coming up for air through small air tunnels. However, the Replicators have begun diving in and getting metals in underwater caves as well."  
"We have to cover Carter and Teal'c and get far away from here. Do you know where the Creta will be hiding?"  
Daniel nodded.  
"Okay. Follow me then."  
The two open fired and temporarily diverted some attention away from Teal'c and Carter who were emptying entire shells at the Replicators without much results.  
"The stuff these guys are made out of it is amazing!" Carter exclaimed.   
"And it's all natural metal found right here in this planet." Daniel explained.   
"Yeah yeah yeah. Save the science stuff for later you two. We gotta get out of here." Jack ordered and gestured for the four of them to retreat.  
  
***  
"Gates is out of his mind. We can't...this can't go on. We need to stop him." Jack explained pacing the confines of the small cave they were hiding in.  
"Sir, Daniel has already gone to see what the Creta know. Besides that, there's really nothing we can do."  
"Don't you just hate it?"   
Sam's eyebrows scrunched up. "I'm confused sir, what?"  
"That he can....that he see this stuff so clearly."  
"Daniel, sir?"  
Jack snorted. "The one and only. He waltzes into this stuff like he's all powerful and all knowing and he assess it, strips it down to the bare elements, decides what's right and what's wrong and does it. The scary thing is he bats a thousand. How does the kid do it?"  
Sam smiled. "Good instincts?"  
Jack shook his head regretfully. "The most unbelievably pure conscience you have ever seen...and he's ours."  
"Well, not entirely sir. We share him with Teal'c...Hammond...Frasier."  
The noise behind them broke the serenity of the moment. It was Gates and his men.  
  
***  
"Are you certain we are close to where the Creta are, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked for what was probably the third time in thirty minutes. It was beginning to remind Daniel of those small children who sit in the backseat of their parents and asks, "Are you there yet?" over and over again.  
"Yes I am certain this is the place. Just a few more steps." Daniel answered, suddenly mistepping and almost lost his footing on a sharp, slick rock. The point slashed a few layers of skin off his shin and almost caused Daniel to fall off the ledge had it not been for Teal'c arms that had come around his waist.  
"Thanks Teal'c." Daniel said breathlessly.  
"You are welcome Daniel Jackson."  
The next few paces were taken carefully and in silence. Below Daniel began to see tiny white specks in the water clustering together.  
"That's them Teal'c. That's the Cetra!" Daniel exclaimed.   
The two then prepared for the difficult task of getting down the ledge.   
"What are they doing, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked suddenly. Daniel turned his attention back down below. An orchestra of lights suddenly filled the room.   
"Oh no."  
"Daniel Jackson?"  
Daniel's face was a sheet of white.  
"Teal'c get Jack and Carter and tell them...they have to go now."  
"What?"  
"Go Teal'c. I'll talk to the Creta. They trust me. Go."   
Teal'c reluctantly turned and watched Daniel struggle to go down the ledge silently asking whatever true gods there were in the world to watch out for the young man.   
  
***  
"Gates," Jack's insistent voice rang in Carter's ears again.  
"Sir he's not going to listen to us."  
The two of them were seated on the dirt, weapons from other Ket'tal pointed at them. The were digging the device up from the ground for some reason.  
"Gates," Jack tried again. "What's going on? Why are you removing that thing?"  
Gates turned and looked at the two humans with something like sympathy in his eyes. "There is a ship currently in orbit of the Creta moon."  
"The Replicators?" Carter asked wearily.  
Gates nodded. "We'll have to lengthen the range and in order to safely detonate the device then we have to palace the device deeper into the earth."  
"You can't do that!" Jack tried to stand up, but the butt of a weapon jarred him from doing so. "The Creta have gone hiding under there to escape the Replicators. If you detonate it there, they're doomed."  
Gates smiled sadly. "There is nothing I can do to stop that now."  
Jack shook his head. "Bull. You can stop it now. Destroy that thing. Work something out with the Creta. There's a better way, Gates."  
Gates shook his head. "That young archaeologist friend of yours has been spoon feeding you ideology I see."  
"Gates-" Jack began.  
"Sir. Someone is firing at us."  
Turning Jack saw Teal'c running up to join them, staff weapon in hand. Carter used the temporary confusion to backhand the guy with the weapon pointed at her and throw him aside. She picked up the discarded weapon and shot it at the guard Jack was trying to manhandle.  
"Thanks." Jack said, a little out of breath.  
Teal'c ran up to the two. "Major Carter. O'Neill. Are you all right?"  
Carter brushed some dirt from her clothes. "We're fine Teal'c. Thanks."  
Jack turned and surveyed the area. "Damn. Gates left with that device."  
Carter turned her stare back to Teal'c. "Where's Daniel?"  
A burst of light shot out of the hole in the earth left by the removal of the EPD. A familiar voice filled their heads.  
Jack? Sam? Can you guys hear me? Teal'c?  
"Daniel?" Carter asked.  
Yes. Oh thank God. You guys have to go.  
"Go where?" Jack replied confused.  
Onto the ship. Somewhere. Leave. The Creta have their own way of getting rid of the Replicators.   
"What? What the hell are you talking about Daniel? Get your butt up here now!"  
No can do Jack. Oh wait...hey...the Creta say the Asgard are coming. Thor will get you guys out of here.  
"Look Daniel. The Creta telepathy thing may have gone to your head. We are not leaving without you, you hear? Now get up here."  
The Creta need someone to fire their weapon. Look, the metal the Replicators here are made of? Apparently it doesn't fair well under extreme ultra violet light. It'll kill them as well, but at least the planet will be intact and most other life forms here as well. So life has a chance here. The Creta need someone to help them fire their weapon and well, I've volunteered.  
"DANNY. NO." Jack stated firmly.  
I'm sorry Jack...The Creta are allowing me to use their telepathy to say...well good-bye. Thank you...I love you all.  
Silence.  
"Daniel?" Jack called. Turning as if half expecting him to be there. "DANIEL!"  
A flash of light and the remaining members of SG-1 found themselves aboard Thor's spacecraft.  
"Thor!" Carter shouted as if surprised.  
"We must depart."  
Jack made a grab for his arms to keep him from the controls. "No. We can't. Daniel..."  
"Daniel Jackson assumed this risk so that he may protect the way of life of the Creta and to save all of you. If we do not leave, his sacrifice will be in vain. There is no time for arguments. We are leaving."  
  
Hey Jack...I know you can't hear me now, but...God, it's beautiful. The light Jack. It's beautiful. I wish you could see it with me.   
  
TBC in Phase 3... 


End file.
